Wednesday, June 22, 2011

BLANK SLATE BATHROOMS

As I explained here, I am possibly the luckiest tenant (and design blogger) ever. Our landlord is renovating our kitchen and bathroom and I've been able to choose most of the finishes and fixtures!

This is the design board I originally made; I want something elegant and classic, and simple enough to satisfy many generations of renters. 


This will all hopefully happen sometime in July or August. And, because the grass is always greener, I'll probably soon get bored of the blank-slate quality of that whiteness. I know the average rental bathroom doesn't involve carrera marble or wainscoting, but many do happen to be mostly white (maybe with some black borders). 

Although that may seem boring and uninspiring, just like the rest of your average rental, don't think of it as a drawback; instead, think of those white tiles it as a backdrop for bathroom loveliness. What can you do to liven up that whiteness? I brainstormed, searched, and came up with some ideas...

An industrial-chic, clean-lined space, keeping the white walls:


Ruffles, saturated color and Moroccan-style details:


If you're allowed to paint, why not go all out? Paint your walls dark charcoal and choose masculine, elegant accessories:


Or switch out the chrome for brass and posh, luxurious furnishings:

clockwise from upper left:
Quoizel sconce at Lumens
Martha Stewart "Ingrid" mirror at HDC
shower curtain found on Real Simple
Nate Berkus for HSN stool - I cheated; no longer available :(
decoupage wastebasket at The Well Appointed Home
towels that I bought on OKL for my real future bath, much cheaper here!
similar monogrammed towels available here (check out all the style options!)

I'm not planning on using any of these boards for my own bathroom, but you might see bits and pieces in the final product! Stay tuned...

[I'm too tired to write down all the product sources at the moment, but let me know if you want to know where I found a specific item!]

5 comments:

  1. Love these design boards - you can't go wrong with a classic white bathroom. Wish mine looked this!

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  2. These are nice! The last is my favorite.

    I've never had a rental where I wasn't allowed to paint. I'm actually wallpapering a wall in my current apartment. As long as I return it to its original state, I don't think my landlord really cares what I do.

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  3. Naomi - same with both my landlords so far! The vast majority of my friends aren't allowed to, though. I stopped by your blog - which I love, BTW! - and realized that I'd already been there once before, when I followed a link to your awesome Rast hack with Chinese hardware :)

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  4. Can you tell me the items in the last bath room and the garden stool in the "morrocan" bathroom. you are so talented!

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  5. smilsfromstilacoom - thank you so much! The garden stool is here: http://www.interiorhomescapes.com/Upright-Garden-Stool_p_6631.html , and I'm adding a caption with all the sources for the last room.

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